183791-1931-Supplementary-Draft-Bills--Money-lenders-Amendment — Page 1

852

Draft Bills.

No. S. 342.-The following bills are published for general information :-

[No. 25-1.9.31.-1.]

A BILL

Short title.

Amendment of Ordinance No. 16 of 1911, s. 4.

INTITULED

An Ordinance to amend the Money-lenders

Ordinance, 1911.

Be it enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Money-lenders Amendment Ordinance, 1931.

2. Section 4 of the Money-lenders Ordinance, 1911, is amended

(i) by the deletion of the words ", not exceeding teu dollars for each registration or renewal," in the sixth and seventh lines of sub-section (1).

in

(ii) by the deletion of the words "three years

the second and fourth lines of sub-section (2) and by the substitution therefor in each case of the words · one year".

Objects and Reasons.

1. Section 4 of the Money-lenders Ordinance, 1911 following as closely as local circumstances permitted the form of section 3 of the Act of 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. 51), limited the registration and renewal fees for money- lenders to $10 and made registration and renewal effective for periods of three years.

2. Section 3 of the Act of 1900 was repealed by section 19 of the Act of 1927 (17 and 18 Geo. 5, c. 21), under section of which annual money-lenders excise licences have to be taken out, the excise duty being £15.

3. It is intended to provide, in the Regulations made by the Governor in Council under section 4 of the prin- cipal Ordinance, for an annual registration or renewal fee of $50.

4. This Ordinance therefore deletes from section 4 (1) the limitation of the fee to $10 and by amendments to section 4 (2) reduces the effectiveness of registrations and renewals from three years to one year.

September, 1931.

C. G. ALABASTER,

Attorney General.

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